Jan 29 in Music History: The Beatles record their German singles, Smokey Robinson leaves the Miracles

1961 – Bob Dylan achieves his dream of meeting his idol while Woody Guthrie is on a weekend release from the NJ hospital where he is being treated for Huntington’s Chorea. Dylan plays “Song to Woody,” which appears on his first album the following year, and tells him, “I was a Woody Guthrie jukebox.” Guthrie gives Dylan a card that says, “I ain’t dead yet.”

1962 – Peter, Paul and Mary sign with Warner Brothers Records.

1964 – The Beatles spend the day at Pathe Marconi Studios in Paris, France, their only studio recording session for EMI held outside the UK. They record new vocals for “She Loves You,” “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” and “Can’t Buy Me Love” after EMI’s West German branch persuaded manager Brian Epstein that they would be unable to sell large quantities of records in Germany unless they were recorded in the German language. A translator coaches John, Paul, and George, although their familiarity with the German language from their Hamburg days makes things much easier.

1967 – Jimi Hendrix and The Who appear at The Saville Theatre in London, England. Twenty-year-old future Queen guitarist Brian May is in the audience.

1969 – Fleetwood Mac scores their only UK #1 single with the instrumental “Albatross.” It is also the only Fleetwood Mac composition to inspire a Beatles song: “Sun King” from Abbey Road.

1972 – Smokey Robinson leaves The Miracles.

1974 – Grand Funk Railroad record “The Loco-Motion” after lead vocalist/guitarist Mark Farner comes into the studio singing the song.

1977 – The Buzzcocks self-release their debut EP, Spiral Scratch.

1979 – Sixteen-year-old Brenda Spencer kills two people and wounds nine others when she fires on San Diego’s Grover Cleveland Elementary School from her house across the street. When asked why she did it, she answers, “I don’t like Mondays.” The Boomtown Rats go on to write and record a song based on the event.

1979 – Emerson, Lake & Palmer disband. They reform in 1991.

1991 – The Divinyls release their self-titled album, which is their 4th overall.

2016 – Tedeschi Trucks Band release their third album, Let Me Get By.

Information for this post was gathered from This Day in Music, The Music History Calendar, On This Day, and Wikipedia.